Hegseth Berates Media as Questions Linger on Iran Strike Impact
Hegseth took aim at reports about a preliminary assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency that said core components of Iran's uranium enrichment program at the underground Fordow facility were still intact. President Donald Trump has said the facility was 'obliterated.'
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Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Gavin Newsom is expertly trolling Fox News stars by mimicking Trump online — right down to the nicknames
Over the past week, Gavin Newsom's press office has been deliberately aping Donald Trump's over-the-top social media posting style in an obvious attempt to not only troll the president's most ardent defenders but also force them to come to grips with Trump's bullying and bombastic tone. The pitch-perfect parody, which comes as the California governor goes on the attack against Trump while clearly eying a run for president, has also resulted in a number of Fox News stars taking the bait – and seemingly making Newsom's point for him. 'DANA 'DING DONG' PERINO (NEVER HEARD OF HER UNTIL TODAY!) IS MELTING DOWN BECAUSE OF ME, GAVIN C. NEWSOM!' the governor's press office account tweeted on Tuesday. 'FOX HATES THAT I AM AMERICA'S MOST FAVORITE GOVERNOR ("RATINGS KING") SAVING AMERICA — WHILE TRUMP CAN'T EVEN CONQUER THE 'BIG' STAIRS ON AIR FORCE ONE ANYMORE!!! TRUMP HAS 'LOST HIS STEP' AND FOX IS LOSING IT BECAUSE WHEN I TYPE, AMERICA NOW WINS!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.' The all-caps screed, complete with a juvenile nickname and satirically signed 'GCN' to mimic Trump adding 'DJT' to his Truth Social posts, came after Fox News host Dana Perino groused Monday afternoon about Newsom's tweets while urging him to cut it out if he wanted to be taken seriously. 'You have to stop it with the Twitter thing,' Perino complained on The Five. 'I don't know where his wife is? If I were his wife I would say, 'You are making a fool of yourself, stop it!'' Noting that Newsom has presidential ambitions, she added: 'Do not let your staff tweet—and if you are doing it yourself, put the phone away and start over. He's got a big job as governor of California, but if he wants an even bigger job he has to be a little more serious.' Perino, however, wasn't the only one to fall into the trap set by Newsom and his social media team. Earlier this week, Tomi Lahren – a Fox News contributor who first shot to fame for her take-no-prisoners liberal-bashing monologues – objected to Newsom's press office mockingly referring to MAGA activist Scott Presler – who is openly gay – as GOP Rep. Nancy Mace. 'New lows unlocked by @GavinNewsom and his team of losers,' Lahren fumed on X, only for the governor's social team to throw back MAGA's favorite attack line back in her face. 'You sound woke,' the press office fired back. The governor's office used a similar tactic last week when Fox News host Raymond Arroyo expressed indignation that Newsom said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — who is confined to a wheelchair — had 'rolled over' after Trump called for Texas to redraw its congressional maps. 'We asked for a statement, and Newsom's office gave us something flippant like, 'You're so woke, he'll get over it,'' Arroyo grumbled before airing the press office's comment, which read: 'No. But how woke of you to ask! I'm sorry Greg's feelings were hurt. Poor guy — we hope he recovers.' Meanwhile, Fox News anchor Trace Gallagher was also apoplectic about Newsom's new approach, which has ramped up as he's taken the fight to Trump and Republicans over their mid-decade redistricting efforts ahead of next year's midterm elections. 'I don't know what he's trying to do, but it comes across as childish and – you are the governor of the biggest state in the union – what are you doing?!' Gallagher complained on Friday night. 'BIRD-BRAIN TREY GALLAGHER (A SO-CALLED FOX 'NEWS' HOST THAT NOBODY HAS EVER HEARD OF) SAYS MY POSTS ARE 'CHILDISH' AND 'UNBECOMING' OF A LEADER — CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? MANY ARE SAYING FOX ("EDIT THE TAPES") NEWS SHOULD CANCEL HIS PATHETIC LITTLE 'BEDTIME SHOW' IMMEDIATELY,' Newsom's team tweeted in response the following day. 'THEY ARE CALLING IT THE MOST BORING PROGRAM IN CABLE HISTORY. TOTAL SNOOZE FEST! SAD!!! — GCN.' Gallgher followed suit on Monday night by criticizing Newsom's 'new Trumpian style' of posting, claiming his tweet mocking the Fox News host was an attempt to be 'clever' before calling for the governor to stop obsessing about Trump. He then went on to name-check The Mamas and the Papas and The Beverly Hillbillies while urging Newsom to pay more attention to his state than his social media activity. Perino also couldn't help herself, jumping online to double and triple down on her on-air commentary about the governor's Trump mimicry – all while seeming blissfully unaware of the point of Newsom's parody of the president. Responding to Pod Save America co-host Jon Favreau sarcastically stating that Newsom 'should take a lesson from Donald Trump on this' before asking her what she thought about the president's social media habits, Perino tweeted that 'copying isn't a good look and it isn't working' while suggesting the governor come up with original content. 'I mean, it's pretty clearly a parody of Trump's absolutely insane all caps, often non-sensical posts. Probably why all the people in my life who aren't political junkies keep reaching out to say they don't know much about Newsom but think the tweets are hilarious,' Favreau replied. 'Humor and mockery can be quite effective!' 'Cool if it works and he's your 2028 nom, I will buy you dinner,' Perino reacted. As if to hammer home the point to Perino, Newsom's office responded to Perino's comments by gleefully posting: 'ALMOST A WEEK IN AND THEY STILL DON'T GET IT.' Indeed, the governor himself hasn't exactly been coy about what his intentions are in adopting the online persona of a full-time Trumpian troll. While the social media operation – which is operated by a multi-aide staff – has generated over a billion impressions across a variety of platforms, Newsom has said outright that anyone upset with his account's online insults and trollish behavior should turn their attention towards the White House. 'I'm just following his example,' Newsom said last week. 'If you have issues with what I'm putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns with what he's putting out as president.' He continued: 'To the extent it's gotten some attention, I'm pleased, but I think the deeper question is how have we allowed the normalization of his tweets, Truth Social posts over the course of the last many years, to go without similar scrutiny and notice?' As CNN's Andrew Kirell noted in Tuesday's edition of the Reliable Sources newsletter, Newsom is essentially punking the right-wing media ecosystem right now with this tactic. 'The effort, clearly designed to hold a mirror up to MAGA and 'bully the bullies,' so to speak, has evidently gone over the heads of many conservative media personalities, baiting them into making Newsom's point about Trump's behavior on their own,' he wrote. Meanwhile, after Perino once again revisited the subject during Tuesday's broadcast of The Five by insisting that 'we get the joke' but that 'it's just not funny,' Kirell asserted that this was precisely what the governor's social media operation was meant to expose. 'I'm fascinated by how they don't seem to understand that saying 'it's just not funny' is exactly the reaction his team is aiming for,' he posted on X. 'It's the whole point.' Pointing out that Gallagher and Perino seemed 'oblivious they were criticizing a parody of Trump himself,' Mediaite's Colby Hall explained that Newsom was 'shooting fish in a barrel' at this point. 'Newsom's feed isn't Trumpian—it's an X-ray of Trumpian excess, but as if it were delivered by the king of ironically detached comedy himself, Steve Martin,' Hall stated. 'Newsom didn't just enter the arena of schoolyard retorts; he grabbed the microphone, turned it upside down, and made the absurd impossible to ignore.' While others, such as The Bulwark's Sarah Longwell, have spelled out that Newsom is making MAGA 'uncomfortable because he's holding up a mirror to what you tolerate on behalf of partisanship,' Democrats are increasingly embracing the governor's approach because it shows his willingness to fight. 'That allows Newsom to step out in front and say he is the first one to stand against Texas's actions,' The Independent's Eric Garcia wrote last week, referencing the Texas redistricting battle. 'Specifically, the Texas Democrats who decamped to blue states said they would return to Texas because California would respond in kind if Texas passed their new maps.' He concluded: '2028 is a long way off and plenty could change. Other candidates might be able to prove Newsom is a paper tiger. But then again, plenty of Republicans waited for Trump to implode and he laid waste to them.'
Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says Fed governor Cook 'must resign' as pressure campaign on central bank continues
President Trump on Wednesday called on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign as the public pressure on the central bank continues to build. "Cook must resign, now!!!" Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social Wednesday morning with a link to a Bloomberg report on a letter sent by Federal Housing Finance Agency head Bill Pulte urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Cook over a pair of mortgages. Pulte wrote in a letter dated Aug. 15 that Cook, 'falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute.' The President's call for Cook to resign comes as public pressure on the Fed continues amid ongonig changes on the Fed's Board of Governors. Last week, Trump nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to the Fed board to fill a seat left empty by Adriana Kugler, who stepped down from the board on Aug. 8. Should Cook also step down, Trump would have the opportunity to nominate another Fed governor. The search for a replacement for Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term leading the central bank ends in May 2026, also continues in the background with Trump last week saying the field of possible replacements for Powell was "down to 3 or 4" candidates. Trump has repeatedly called on Powell to cut rates more aggressively, coining the nickname "Too Late" for the Fed chair. Trump first appointed Powell to the role in 2017; President Biden renominated Powell as Fed chair in 2021. Powell is also a member of the Fed's Board of Governors, with his term set to expire in 2028; it isn't clear whether Powell will also vacate that post when his term as Fed chair ends next year. Reporting from CNBC, however, suggested up to 11 names are under consideration for Powell's role, including Jefferies chief market strategist David Zervos, who told CNBC Wednesday that the Fed has "never been independent." The mounting discussion around Fed independence and political pressure currently being levied at the central bank comes ahead of the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, which is set to feature Powell's key policy speech of the year on Friday morning. Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices
Newsweek
6 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Donald Trump Changing West Colonnade in Another White House Project
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump appears to be embarking upon another White House project, as images shared on social media shared a glimpse into a project along the West Colonnade. Newsweek reached out to the White House outside of regular working hours via email for comment. Why It Matters Since the beginning of his second term, Trump has directed several major renovations at the White House. Trump redesigned the previously minimalist Oval Office, making some of the most significant changes to the room's appearance in modern presidential history, adding gold medallions, gold vermeil figurines, gold eagles, and gilded Rococo mirrors. Trump also paved over the iconic White House Rose Garden. These renovations, completed on August 1, involved replacing the lawn entirely with a white, concrete patio featuring diamond-shaped plates. President Donald Trump walks on the West Colonnade of the White House on January 31, 2025. President Donald Trump walks on the West Colonnade of the White House on January 31, 2025. Oliver Contreras/Sipa USA/Sipa via AP Images What To Know In a recent post on X, Florida's Voice Assistant News Director Eric Daugherty posted two images of Trump in the West Colonnade, and wrote that the president was doing another "major project." In both images, Trump is accompanied by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro. The first of the two images shows two framed portraits of former Presidents Thomas Jefferson and George Washington being hung on the wall by two men. On either side of the framed picture, multiple pieces of beige paper are affixed to the wall, similar in size to the paintings, suggesting that more pictures could be hung. 🚨 EPIC! President Trump is doing a major project at the White House colonnade and was spotted there with Judge Jeanine. The guy thinks of a new project every week. Real estate developer Trump is the best Trump. 🇺🇸🔥 — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 20, 2025 The West Colonnade, also known as the "45-second commute," was originally built for Jefferson to run alongside service spaces. In recent years, the open columned walkway has been used by the president and staff to travel between the Executive Residence and the West Wing. What People Are Saying White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, in a statement shared by The New York Times in March: "The White House has not been given any tender, loving care in many decades, so President Trump is taking necessary steps in order to preserve and restore the greatness and glory of 'the People's House.'" Eric Daugherty, on X: "The guy thinks of a new project every week. Real estate developer Trump is the best Trump." Chris D. Jackson, a political strategist who worked on the Biden campaign, on X in July: "This is awful. The Rose Garden and Colonnade used to be my favorite parts of the White House—now they look like everything else he touches: stripped down, soulless, and ruined. Here's hoping the next First Family doesn't just reverse policy but rips out every bit of this tasteless mess." What Happens Next There have been reports that Trump intends to build a ballroom in the White House, similar to the one at his Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago.
